


Always Home

by Galrafloofandlove



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Keith (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentions of past Childhood illness, Shiro has two moms, Sick Shiro (Voltron), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 01:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18840469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galrafloofandlove/pseuds/Galrafloofandlove
Summary: “You excited to see your boyfriend?” Matt teased as they opened the door into the physics building at their college.Shiro still blushed whenever Keith was referred to as his boyfriend. He wasn’t really, it was just a simple situation of Keith needing to prove to his family that he could actually get a date. Classic cliche, nothing to worry about, unless the second part of the cliche actually came to fruition.That, of course, was falling in love with your fake boyfriend.Now, Shiro had a different spin on the cliche- he’d been in love with Keith since they were little.





	Always Home

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Nisa! 
> 
> Quick warning: There's two mentions of amputation when Shiro was a child. Nothing at all graphic or even detailed, just a quick thing.

“You excited to see your boyfriend?” Matt teased as they opened the door into the physics building at their college.  
Shiro still blushed whenever Keith was referred to as his boyfriend. He wasn’t really, it was just a simple situation of Keith needing to prove to his family that he could actually get a date. Classic cliche, nothing to worry about, unless the second part of the cliche actually came to fruition.  
That, of course, was falling in love with your fake boyfriend.  
Now, Shiro had a different spin on the cliche- he’d been in love with Keith since they were little. 

Keith moved in across the street from Shiro’s childhood home when Shiro was seven. Keith was five, starting the first grade at the same school Shiro had gone to since preschool. Due to Shiro’s disease, he was kept inside during the summer months so he could rest in-between treatments. Keith’s father introduced Keith to Shiro, hoping they’d become each other’s only friends. 

Keith’s father always seemed to be right. 

Keith preferred to be inside to play, so he didn’t mind Shiro’s predicament. Keith was younger and tinier than him, yet his smarts were equal to Shiro’s own. They once spent two days building a giant castle out of multicolored blocks in Shiro’s living room. Shiro’s moms didn’t mind much at all- they were just happy that their son was having fun.  
Near the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, Shiro’s doctor finally decided that there was nothing they could really do except amputate his right arm. 

Shiro missed the first month of third grade to recover. 

But Keith visited every day, and helped Shiro learn the material that was two grades above Keith’s level. Keith’s mother and father baked a bunch, and Keith also commonly visited with a basket of cookies or biscuits along with Shiro’s schoolwork. 

Keith was kind, amazing and brilliant. 

It didn’t take very long after Shiro realized his sexuality that his crush on Keith became clear to him.  
It was a smack in the face, truly, finding out that his feelings definitely were not just platonic.  
Not that he could ever tell Keith that.  
Everytime he tried, he clammed up. His voice failed him as he stared into Keith’s eyes, full of wonder and carrying the entire universe in each iris.  
So he kept it all bottled up until the time was right. Which was definitely not when they were fake dating to keep up the ruse even after convincing Keith’s family. If Matt ever found out that it was all a lie, he’d never let either of them live it down. And breaking up wasn’t an option until summer break when they could successfully tell Matt they had a long and rough fight, since Matt was Shiro’s roommate and Shiro couldn’t fake cry to save his life. 

“I-uh, saw him yesterday.” Shiro repiled, clutching his textbook closer to his chest in an attempt to stop the rapid beating of his heart. He feared that Matt may be able to hear it, no matter how far fetched that was. Matt was always able to read Shiro like an open book, and the clock was ticking until he realized that Shiro was actually crushing on his fake boyfriend.  
Not that Matt knew it was all fake.  
“Uh-huh. Because you don't get lonely at night and miss him.” Matt was obviously just teasing, he had no clue that Matt was actually right. 

The first time Shiro missed Keith was when he was nine. Shiro had to go to Colorado to get fitted for a prosthesis, and he had to stay for a few days in a hotel. 

Without seeing Keith for three days and not being able to reassure himself that Keith was just across the street.  
Because he wasn't. 

When Shiro went away to college two years before Keith, it was a little better, since they usually FaceTimed for at least an hour every night.  
And Keith gave him a stuffed lion plush before he te away- one Keith had since he was four. Soft a f comforted him every night.  
Shiro had given Keith a white kitten plush as well, for Keith to cuddle with if he missed Shiro.  
If he ever missed Shiro.

And now Keith went to the same college. 

And that black lion plush was still tucked under Shiro's pillow back at his apartment.  
Shiro didn't get much more time to think or defend himself before they stepped into the lecture hall and class started. 

~~~~~~

 

After class, Keith came over from the other side of the lecture hall. He usually sat in the corner in the back of the room- made him feel more comfortable. Shiro preferred to sit near the room with Matt so he could see easier. 

“Good morning.” Keith greeted casually, smiling when he saw Shiro.  
That smile. It shines brighter than all the lights on Earth combined, the sun and all the stars in the sky. Keith was the universe, his irises sparkling like stars and his smile shining like the sun above. His skin always seemed to have a beautiful glow, like the moon personally blessed him. 

Okay, he's definitely blushing by now. 

“We still on for breakfast at your place tomorrow?” Keith asked when all he got in response was a wave from Matt and a shy smile from Shiro.  
“Ah, damn. I have to go home for Katie's birthday. It landed on a Saturday this year.” Matt sounded like he was genuinely upset, but Shiro had the sneaking suspicion that he was just trying to give him and Keith some date time.

Which would be fantastic, if they were actually dating. 

“I can just make something-” Shiro started to say, trying to ease the silence between them as both he and Keith thought through the excuse when Matt had been the one to plan the get-together not a week before.  
“No, no, I'll make something and bring it over. We don't need another cinnamon roll incident.” Keith quickly supplied before Shiro could even finish his sentence about him being within five feet of a stove.  
Matt had been well educated on the cinnamon roll incident- Shiro was eleven, Keith was nine, and Shiro nearly set Keith's kitchen on fire trying to make very simple cinnamon rolls.  
Luckily, Keith's father was a firefighter.

“I have to work for the rest of the day, but I'll text you tonight, Shiro.” Keith finished with, smile growing wider. It was sort of out of character for Keith- he'd been smiling a lot more and hiding his happiness less since they started faking a relationship. He was probably just trying to reinforce the idea that they were both very in love, but Shiro couldn't help but believe that Keith was trying to give him a heart attack with every smile he flashed. 

“Y-yeah! Sounds good! I mean, actually, that sounds great, wonderful even-” Shiro finally dug his voice out, and ended up wasting it on rambling until Matt slapped a hand over his mouth, effectively muting him.  
“What your boyfriend means to say is that he would love to hear from you tonight, and tomorrow a breakfast date sounds fantastic.” Matt finished his sentence for him, more enthusiastic than either of them.  
Keith’s eyes were caring when he looked back at Shiro, Matt’s hand still firmly attached to his mouth to avoid further second-hand embarrassment.  
“Talk to you later.” Keith said, not even phased by the disaster that had occured right before his eyes.  
Shiro lifted up his artificial hand and waved goodbye as Keith departed from the classroom. 

Only once Keith was both out of vision and earshot did Matt remove his hand, promptly call Shiro terrible at flirting, and then grabbed Shiro by the ear and dragged him back to their apartment. 

~~~~~~

“Peanut butter and chocolate with chocolate chips.” Shiro ordered, lying against the biggest pillow in their apartment, pulling a fluffy black blanket up to his waist.  
“That all you want?” Allura asked from the other side of the phone.  
“Yeah just the cup of froyo.” Shiro responded as Matt entered the living room of the apartment with a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder.  
“Alright Shiro. Be by in a little bit.” The audio on the phone cracked in the middle of the sentence, but Shiro was pretty sure he heard it correctly.  
“Thank you Allura.” Shiro was cut off by a painful cough, his throat burning as he did.  
“Don’t mention it.” The phone beeped once as Allura hung up. 

After Shiro put his cellphone down, Matt eyed him.  
“Are you really that sick?” Matt seemed to be in between wanting to mock Shiro and wanting to pity him.  
“Not really. I’ll be fine tomorrow.” Shiro wasn’t sure if he was reassuring Matt or himself. He hadn’t been legitimately sick since he was twelve. “Just my throat. And my ear kinda feels weird.”  
“I bet it’s strep and an ear infection. Katie used to get them all the time when she was little.” Matt sounded like he was actually a professional and officially diagnosing Shiro as an astronomy major in college.  
“Yeah, well, I’m twenty-two. Now, I’m in pain so no more talking.” Shiro pouted like he was still a child and his mom would deliver him hot soup any minute now.  
“Fine. But don’t blame me when you go to the walk-in tomorrow and they give you antibiotics.” Matt ended by opening the door to their apartment, ready to leave to go back to his childhood home for his sister’s birthday.  
“Bye, Shiro, See you on Sunday.”  
Shiro waved goodbye as the door shut. 

And now he was alone with the promise of frozen yogurt on the horizon. 

~~~~~~~

Shiro fell asleep on the couch after Allura delivered the frozen yogurt and he ate it in two minutes. 

When he woke up, the lights were dimmed and a freshly showered Keith was sitting next to him, scrolling through his phone quietly.  
He smelled like the cherry blossom lotion Shiro had gotten him for his birthday, and his T-shirt hung just slightly off of his right shoulder. His hair had a little bit of a fluffy texture to it, like it had done when they were little after Keith’s dad sprayed them with a garden hose. It was still drying, Shiro could tell, and Keith looked absolutely adorable.  
“Good afternoon, sleepyhead.” Keith greeted when he saw Shiro crack his eyes open. “You feeling any better or should I take you to the walk-in?” Keith started to run his fingers through his short white locks, like Shiro was a cat.  
And maybe the noise of satisfaction Shiro let out at the feeling sounded like a purr. He wouldn’t be surprised.  
Shiro must’ve looked confused, because Keith followed up with “I used the key you gave me at the start of the semester. Matt told me you were sick. You look like a ghost and your forehead is boiling.” Keith listed it all off like it was already decided he was going to the doctor and any option Shiro picked would lead to that.  
“I feel bad.” Shiro slurred out, throat stinging terribly after only three words.  
“Okay then, baby. I brought the truck over, lets go over to the walk-in.” Keith stated so sweetly that Shiro thought he imagined it.  
And that he imagined the word “baby”. He was sick, maybe a little delusional, but he could’ve sworn Keith had said…  
It didn’t matter, whatever was said. Maybe Keith forgot Matt wasn’t in the apartment. 

But Keith had never called him baby, even in public. 

Huh. 

He didn’t have much more time to think about it until Keith helped him out of the apartment and lead Shiro into the passenger's seat of his old truck, a hand-me-down from Keith’s father.  
Keith made sure the radio was on low as he drove out of the parking lot. Shiro rested his eyes while Keith drove, until the truck turned suddenly and parked. 

Without a word, Keith helped Shiro out of the truck and into the walk-in, the intense smell of disinfectant filling his nose when he stepped him. 

They checked in quickly, and Shiro napped a bit in the walking area before his name was called. 

~~~~~~

“You okay?” Keith asked later, back at the apartment as Shiro climbed into his twin bed. 

Matt was correct, as much as Shiro hated to admit it. Strep throat and an ear infection, which meant a bunch of antibiotics and strict orders to rest, which Keith was insistent to inforce. 

“Mhm.” Shiro muttered as Keith laid the black blanket over him, tucking him in like he’d done so many times when Shiro was recovering from the loss of his arm.  
Keith placed something fluffy on Shiro’s chest, and Shiro instinctively clutched it closer to his heart.  
Everything was silent for a minute, and for a while Shiro thought that Keith had left him to sleep. Until, 

“I love you.” 

The words were said casually, like Keith had actually seriously said it a million times before. Around Keith’s family he’d said it, once around Matt, but never when they were alone. 

And never so surely. So matter-of-a-factly, like a theory that had been tested a million times over that it was just a scientific law now. 

When Shiro didn’t respond, Keith just climbed into bed next to him, putting a hand around Shiro’s waist and falling into slumber before Shiro even did. 

Shiro drifted off soon after, debating everything that had happened that day, and if Keith actually meant what he was saying.

~~~~~~

 

When the morning light shone through the tiny window above Shiro’s bed, he was sure of two things. 

Keith had confessed to him last night, and he was going to confess to Keith as well this morning. 

Also, a third thing. 

He slept with the black lion last night.  
And Keith had been the one to put it in his arms.

When Keith entered the bedroom with a plate of reheated pancakes soaked in syrup, just as Shiro liked, and a small plastic medicine cup with the antibiotics poured in, Shiro smiled and bit the bullet. 

“I love you too.” 

Keith's eyes widened, and he looked around, like Matt had returned early and Shiro was just trying to keep up with their dating lie. 

When he saw nobody, Keith placed the plate and medicine on the side table, and Shiro could see his hands shaking.  
“I...didn't know you weren't asleep when I…” Keith stuttered, fidgeting with his hands as he tried to make sense of what Shiro just said.  
“I just never thought you'd ever love me. You were older and cooler and everybody at school always thought that you weren't actually friends with me and-” Keith rambled on, and Shiro thought he saw tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes.  
“I've been in love with you for years.” Shiro confessed, and he wasn't sure if his face growing hot was the fever or a blush.  
“So have I. Since I was nine, maybe. After the cinnamon roll incident and we went down to the ice cream place with my mom and you remembered my favorite flavor…” Keith recalled the memory like it happened the day before.  
“Strawberry and vanilla swirl.” Shiro filled in.  
“Chocolate and peanut butter.” Keith gave Shiro's favorite like it was a second nature.  
“Is this my fake boyfriend becoming my actual boyfriend?” Shiro questioned with a smile.  
“I guess it is.” Keith's answer came like quickfire. 

For a while, they just stared into each other's eyes. When Shiro was confessing, the pain in his throat disappeared for a minute, but it came back full force soon enough and Keith noticed, picking the cup full of medicine back up and presented it in front of Shiro face. 

“I love you.” Shiro said with a pout.  
“I love you too, but you still have to take your medicine.” Keith said, before Shiro snatched the cup up and downed it in one gulp. 

Keith rewarded him with a kiss to the forehead, and Shiro felt at home in Keith's arms. 

He felt at home in his boyfriend's arms. 

And he wanted to stay right there for the rest of time, right where he could feel Keith's heart beating. 

And he could say he loves him a million times over and nothing would be out of the ordinary. 

He realized then, that no matter where he goes, no matter how far away he travels, Keith, his home, will always be there. 

Always.

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/Maximoffs_love) || [Tumblr](https://galrafloofandlove.tumblr.com)!


End file.
